Plan Orange
by dw77
Summary: The ever Loyal Jeremiah Gottwald is split between his two masters; Lady Marianne and the oath he swore to her to protect her children's lives at all cost; or his promise to her son Lelouch; to help him with the Zero Requiem. Put between a rock and a hard place Jeremiah decides to serve Lady Marianne's wishes rather than those of her son.
1. The Setup

Code Geass: Plan Orange

A/N: This is being published because Lostguy got a look at a part of this that I had been dabbling with and pushed me to finish the chapter... so if you like it thank him for giving me the motivation to complete the chapter (I had only really been playing around with the idea)

* * *

Jeremiah wasn't entirely happy with what he had decided to do as he walked to the warehouse where Princess Cornelia and her rebel force had agreed to meet with him... it felt like he was betraying his lord... but it would be an even bigger betrayal of Lady Marianne and his oath to never let harm come to her children if he could do anything about it. '_Forgive me my Emperor; but I cannot stand by while you send yourself to your death; your mother would never have tolerated it.'_ Jeremiah thought as he approached the warehouse; thankfully there had been no one to lose so he had made good time on his journey there; as he entered the massive steel doors they began to close behind him activating his fight or flight instinct but he fought it down; Cornelia and her troops had every right to be suspicious of him and any actions he took would only make things worse.

"This is something I never thought I would see;" Cornelia Drawled as she walked out of the shadows flanked by her knight Guilford while the shadows around them lit up with a dozen red dots as lasers illuminated Jeremiah's head; "A Gottwald Betraying their oath-sworn liege? It is inconceivable; so you will forgive my skepticism."

Jeremiah gulped he knew that unless he played this right he would fail to save his Emperor from himself and fail Lady Marianne in the worst possible way. "Princess Cornelia; I swore my Oath to Lady Marianne above all others; and I am here to try to fulfill one of her wishes; I ask for your assistance in saving your brother..."

At this Cornelia cut him off "Why would you want to save Schneizel?" she asked her confusion well veiled by her steely demeanor

"Princess you misunderstand; please allow me finish." she waved at him to continue; "Please help me save Emperor Lelouch from himself." he pleaded

This time the confusion Cornelia felt actually made it to her face for a second before her face flushed with anger and she practically demanded "Why should I save him? He Killed Euphie! I want him dead!" this time it was Jeremiah who cut Cornelia off.

"Because the original sin lies with the entire Royal family." Jeremiah said with all of the certainty he could muster; "Tell me what is left when you strip away everything that a man has ever loved; every dream that he has ever had? What happens to a man who has lost everything so many times that his sanity is stripped away?" Jeremiah demanded before continuing more softly "I just hope that there is still something that can be salvaged from the disaster that his psyche has become... I fear that Nunnally declaring herself to be his enemy may have been too much..." he finished somberly.

Cornelia couldn't believe what she was hearing and asked a bit unsteadily "What are you getting at?"

"Because of the circumstances I know that Emperor Lelouch is insane; among other things he has split personalities now; he believes that Princess Nunnally is an imposter; and often speaks to Suzaku Kururugi as though he were still alive; his mental condition has spiraled out of control; I fear that if it goes much further either he or the world will be destroyed."

It took Cornelia some time to respond; "If what you say is true then..." it was hard for her to say "I will help you save Lelouch..." this statement startled Guilford "How do you propose we do it though Gottwald"

"I brought some plans with me detailing the route he takes to head to his bedchambers to sleep; it is the time of day that he has the fewest guards protecting him; if you strike then, you will have the greatest chance of success; fortunately I do not act as his guard at this time; he usually has me sent out to review the palace defenses; so I can easily get you in. Just be ready to capture him as soon as possible though." Jeremiah turned to leave the warehouse before turning around and tossing Cornelia a disposable cellphone "Princess; I know it is not my place but please promise me that you will do everything you can to help save your younger brother." Gottwald plead.

It took Cornelia a second but she responded "You have my word Sir Jeremiah Gottwald."

* * *

After Gottwald left Cornelia sequestered herself into what had effectively become her private office so that she could think... could all of Lelouch's actions up to this point have been the result of Lady Marianne's death? Could Clovis' death, her father's death, Euphie's death... Could it all have been avoided? If she had saved Lady Marianne from death eight years ago would Euphie still be alive today? The more she thought about what Gottwald had told her the more emphatic the YES answer became. Cornelia could only try to put herself in his shoes; she could only try to understand the suffering; but it wasn't until she thought of having to see and protect a permanently wounded Euphie every day for seven years that she was brought to the point of hysteria. Guilford who had been waiting patiently outside heard his Princess start hyperventilating and rushed to her side.

"Princess! What is it?" Guilford asked Cornelia as he knelt beside her as she sat back in the chair that he had guided to her.

"Guilford; My knight..." Cornelia began as she composed herself "I was thinking about what Gottwald told us... and if he is right I can only think that in the end Euphie died because I failed to protect Lady Marianne... that all of this traces itself back to that day that she was gunned down in front of Lelouch... that day that Nunnally was permanently injured..."

"My lady... don't blame yourself for that; Lady Marianne ordered you to withdraw the guard." Guilford said to comfort Cornelia.

"But if I had stayed!" Cornelia began before Guilford cut her off

"You couldn't have known what would happen and if you had stayed you could have died too."

Cornelia had no counter for that statement but quickly latched on to another point where she had failed Lelouch back then. "Fine... But I should have gone to comfort Lelouch instead of comforting Euphie... Lelouch was the one that had lost his MOTHER not Euphie... yet I prioritized her and the pain she felt... What kind of big sister does that?"

"The kind that is grieving and can't think straight herself." Guilford countered

"But if I..." Cornelia started when Guilford cut her off

"Forgive me princess; but dwelling in the past is not going to do you any good; Yes if you had done something different back then; maybe Lelouch wouldn't have suffered, maybe Euphemia would still be alive; but that doesn't matter; what matters is what you decide to do now; you need to move forward and if you need to repent for your sins; but do not dwell on them, that does no one any good and only makes you and those who care about you hurt" Guilford said as a single tear trailed down his cheek; here in front of him his strong warrior princess was breaking to pieces and he felt so impotent.

"Guilford... will you help me? No matter what I decide?"

"I will stand at your side in all your endeavors Milady." his words elicited a reaction that he had never seen from her before... she hugged him... it took him a second but he gently returned his embrace; and while they held each other Cornelia seeking comfort from another person for the first time since Euphemia's death she made a decision, she would seek to repent her sins and failures; she would try to save her little brother from himself... from the damage that she and the others in their family had inflicted upon him... from the damage that had driven him mad; the last thought that crossed her mind before she drifted off to sleep in the arms of her knight was _'I hope you can forgive me... Lelouch... little brother'_

* * *

While Cornelia was letting her emotions flow for the first time in a year Jeremiah Gottwald made a round to visit the prison that the Black Knights were held in... Lelouch officially tolerated this because Jeremiah still had a few people who he could call friends among the Black Knights; most notably Kyoshiro Tohdoh who respected Jeremiah despite the fact that Jeremiah was one of Lelouch's followers. That was the explanation for the Black Knights and the Rank and file; Lelouch had actually given Jeremiah orders to keep the Black Knights up to date on current world events because of the plan; regardless Tohdoh was really the only Black Knight that he knew he could trust with his plan._  
_

"Sir Gottwald! Here to visit General Tohdoh again?" the warden in charge of the cells the Black Knights were in greeted Jeremiah.

"I am indeed warden" Gottwald replied as the warden grabbed his keys and lead Jeremiah towards Tohdoh's cell.

"Forgive my curiosity Sir Gottwald; but I do wonder; why do you visit this prisoner so often?" the warden asked halfway to the cell "I mean you used to be the leader of the purist faction in Area 11..."

At this comment Jeremiah smiled slightly remembering how blinded he had been at the time... how his rage at the Japanese for killing then prince Lelouch and his sister princess Nunnally had blinded him to what a fine people they really were... _'I'll have to remember to thank Sayoko for protecting and serving the Vi Britannia line while I thought they were dead.' _he thought.

Jeremiah took a second before responding to the Warden's inquiry "While serving Emperor Lelouch while he was still in seclusion I adopted his position on the matter, simply put I respect him for who he is and what he has done; I respect the loyalty that he has for his people and his nation, I respect him because he is an intelligent and skilled warrior who has always followed his code of honor." before muttering under his breath "though he has proven to be a fool at times..."

"What was that?" the warden said as they neared the cell.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with Warden; If you would be so kind?" Jeremiah said gesturing at the lock on Tohdoh's cell.

Sighing the Warden said to Jeremiah as he unlocked the lock and let him through before closing it behind him; "I'll be back in half an hour as usual. Until then do as you will."

As the door shut behind him Jeremiah heard General Tohdoh's usual greeting "Hello Jeremiah"

"Hello General;" Jeremiah returned.

"So why have you come to visit today Gottwald? Is it to bring me more news? Though I still see little point in your bringing news of the outside world to a condemned man..." Tohdoh asked

"Kyoshiro while you and I fight for different reasons I respect you no less because of it; a man in isolation will go mad... and I would rather not see that happen to another person..." Gottwald stated.

This confused Tohdoh. "Excuse me Jeremiah; but what do you mean by that?"

"That is actually the reason that I came here today General" Gottwald said making sure that there was no one that was in obvious earshot; unbeknownst to him though Kallen was paying attention

"Tell me General; what was your first impression of Lelouch when you first met him at the Kururugi Shrine?" Jeremiah asked

This question confused Tohdoh but he took a moment and answered it truthfully "He seemed much like a young child who had lost everything except his little sister... he seemed like he would do anything for little Nunnally... I am sorry Jeremiah where are you going with this?"

"In good time General; but you see that is exactly what he was at the time... Lelouch was a young boy who had lost everything and then had to take his crippled blinded sister through a War Zone... tell me what kind of psychological impact do you think that has on a ten year old boy?" Jeremiah asked

Tohdoh thought for a second before shuddering something like that would push him to the limits of his own sanity... "Gottwald are you saying what I think you are saying? Are you saying that Lelouch is insane?"

On the other side of the wall Kallen gasped. If that was true then... but before she could finish that thought Gottwald started speaking again.

"While that is certainly the case now General... the events described merely made him dangerously unstable; all of the pressures came to a head on a single day... the day of the destruction of the Tokyo concession; the day that he lost everything and everyone he cared about. Put simply General he went mad because he no longer had anything or anyone left to to keep him sane." Jeremiah said, "The pain was too much after that day... I did what I could to save my lord's mind... but sadly all the loyalty in the world is unable to rescue him from his madness..." he sighed.

It took Kyoshiro Tohdoh some time "I would believe that he was insane before then; what of the massacre, Gottwald; what sane man slaughters helpless children?"

At this Jeremiah chuckled grimly "You and the other Black Knights are so terrified of his geass but you hold against him the eradication of Britannia's army of geass users. It's a sad proof of how trusting of Schneizel you and the other Black Knights were."

"What?" Tohdoh asked with alarm; "A geass army?..."

"Hundreds of people; men women and children all weaponized with geass powers under the aegis of Charles Zi Britannia; my lord wiped them out because of the threat they posed as well as for personal revenge." Jeremiah said "I ask you why is it that you and the others believed the word of your enemy rather than trusting your own commander; Tohdoh? Why did you believe a man known for his silver tongue? A man who had every reason to want Zero out of the picture? A man who would seek that end by any means if he deemed it necessary?" Jeremiah heard the footsteps of the warden approaching the cell; "Well now... Excuse me General there is much that I must attend to if I am to save my Lord."

As he walked away from the stunned general; Jeremiah let a smile creep onto his face as he mused about the burden of realized ignorance. A burden he had suffered once before.

* * *

As Jeremiah took his leave Kallen slumped against the wall of her cell; if what she had overheard was right... then Lelouch hadn't tricked her... he hadn't used her... she then remembered the last few words that he spoke to her aboard the Ikaruga "Kallen, you must live on." those five words had stopped her heart from shattering completely; they were her lifeline until she could start healing... but at that same time she had walked away from him... when she should have seen through his lies she believed them and walked away... he had saved the shattered remnants of her heart with five simple words the same day that his sanity fell to ruin...

Kallen hugged her knees as tears started to flow from her eyes... if what she had heard Gottwald say was true... and if he had truly wanted her to 'live on'... then that means that she had been important to him... but if so then she had failed him... failed him so completely... 'Am I even worthy of wanting his love? Could I have prevented this? What would have happened if I had been able to see through his lie?' Unfortunately for Kallen; unlike Cornelia she had no-one to comfort her... no one to convince her that she needed to act in the present... then again it did look pretty bleak from where she was sitting... no way out; no way to escape... little did she know of what Jeremiah had planned and the chance it would give her to soothe the pain that Lelouch was suffering.

* * *

General Tohdoh on the other hand was rapidly processing the information he had received as well as the accusations that Jeremiah had leveled at him... if all of that were true then the blame for the current situation lay directly on his shoulders as well as those of the rest of the Black Knights... while the blame also lay on the shoulders of Schneizel and Cornelia; it was the members of the Black Knight leadership that had not given him any chance to explain himself; he recognized now that he along with the others had become so entranced by the idea of regaining Japan without any further bloodshed, just by turning over someone accused of horrible crimes... and that was just it the evidence was weak; all of it easily forged of fibbed; it was as simple as that Schneizel and Cornelia simply accused Lelouch of crimes; and he and the others fell for it, hook line and sinker...

It occurred to him that everything that Schneizel had told him was suspect... Britannia certainly had the resources to be able to fabricate all of that; and the tape he had heard were suspiciously incriminating especially combined with one fact; everything Schneizel had told them was perfect to incriminate Lelouch; to make them glad that they were turning over one of the world's greatest strategists and tacticians to the enemy. General Tohdoh now just hoped that he would get a chance to learn more before he was executed.

* * *

Jeremiah meanwhile went on his final trip for the night; he went to his office; he rearranged the patrol schedules so that 2230 hours the following night the only guards that would be anywhere near the west entrance would be those that Lelouch had ordered to only follow the orders of three people; Suzaku had gone into hiding until the requiem was ready to end; and Lelouch didn't suspect a thing... Jeremiah suddenly cringed and thanked his stars there it was again... the pain of split loyalties... still Lady Marianne had made him swear to protect her children at all cost. If that cost included betraying the trust of his lord then so be it he would not fail Lady Marianne.

Jeremiah stood up from his desk and headed to bed; he would contact princess Cornelia at some tomorrow morning to inform her of the time to attack... for now he had to sleep.

As Jeremiah laid down on his bed one last thought occurred to him... if everything went well tomorrow he will be the only person to have outsmarted and outmaneuvered his lord completely... A smile crossed Jeremiah's face as he drifted off; if everything went well his lord's greatest and hopefully final defeat would be the one that saved his life.

* * *

A/N: Well I may or may not put any further work into this story for a while; I have other stories to attend to but... this was still fun to write... here you go.

to those who think that Jeremiah is acting a little OOC here... all I have to say is that he has to have some cunning himself otherwise he would never have become the head of the purist faction.

Please Review

word count: 3349


	2. The Execution

A/N: Apparently people like my portrayal of Jeremiah Gottwald as being more than just a mindless loyal berserker...

A/N-2:This chapter my be a little ... off... I am just getting back to fanic writing after focusing on my last semester... BTW I have now graduated from college!

* * *

When Jeremiah awoke the following morning he went about his usual routine at first; including attending to his Emperor's needs before taking his morning jog around the palace grounds; it was during this jog that he took a detour and headed to his office early. He then made his call to the disposable cellphone he had given Princess Cornelia...

* * *

Cornelia woke to the obnoxious ringing of the disposable cellphone that Gottwald had given her the previous night. It took her a minute to get her bearings, suddenly she realized that someone was holding her. Reacting instinctively Cornelia groggily pushed her assailant away before realizing that she had just knocked her knight to the ground. Quickly Apologizing to her knight Cornelia grabbed the cellphone and flipped it open. "Hello? Gottwald?" It took her a second to understand the message hidden in the words that came out of the phone.

"Yes I was calling to talk about the Paper delivery... Yes were running a bit low... the order will need to be increased to 2230 reams can you get that to the palace today?... that's disappointing; so tonight then? yes, well please get it here as soon as soon as possible... This is a monthly order... okay... Please deliver it to the western gate... thank you ma'am; you and you company are performing a great service to his Majesty..." and then Gottwald hung up on her... at first she was incensed and almost screamed before realizing that this was the orders concerning the place and time...

Gilbert Guilford watched his princess as she pondered the message she just received from Sir Gottwald...

Suddenly his princess spoke up "Tonight, Twenty Two Hundred and Thirty hours, at the Western Gate of the Palace eh? Gilbert send Viletta Nu to scout out the Western Gate; she knows what to look for if there is a trap and the guards won't find a pregnant woman suspicious. If we don't take the chance tonight we'll have to wait another week. In the meantime we'll need to ready the troops to storm the palace; we'll meet before at the vacant restaurant near the west gate at 2200 hours." Guilford scrambled off to send Viletta on her mission while Cornelia took a moment to ponder about whether she had made the right decision.

* * *

After finishing his conversation with Cornelia and taking care of some real paperwork (god he hated paperwork) He went to meet with his lord at the breakfast table along with Miss C.C. and Suzaku Kururugi for their daily briefing on the progress of the Zero Requiem; most of it was just the standard stuff; a quick rehash of the plan before Lelouch started giving out orders; there was nothing for him to do for the plan today; but Suzaku got his marching orders.

"Suzaku; I have set up a safe-house for you on the outskirts of the city; here's the address. Leave through the underground maintenance shaft you should get there by nightfall. As you know the execution is in a week so prepare yourself for what lies ahead." Lelouch told his intended replacement.

Upon hearing this Jeremiah was relieved for it meant that he didn't have to force Kururugi out of the picture... something that he hadn't been entirely clear on how he was going to accomplish. He allowed himself a slight smile; a smile which only C.C. noticed.

* * *

Once the meeting was over and all of the conspirators had gone their separate ways Jeremiah found himself suddenly cornered by the Gray Witch.

"What are you up to Orange? You seem far too happy for a man who is about to lose his lord... What are you planning?" C.C. asked.

"What makes you think that?!" Gottwald said involuntarily panicking.

"I've got it you promised Marianne you would protect her children... you're planning on stopping the requiem aren't you?"

"What... no! Are you crazy?"

C.C. then surprised Gottwald who believed that the jig was up "Count me in."

"What..." Gottwald replied stunned

"He still hasn't completed his end of our contract; and he can't do that if he's dead."

After a bit more convincing from C.C. Jeremiah started sharing the details of the plan with her.

* * *

"So Orange when we are captured by Cornelia you want me to share this plan with Lelouch?" C.C. asked

"Yes but you need to share it as discretely as possible and at a point where he cannot do anything but follow the plan; can you do this?" Jeremiah asked

"Don't insult me Orange, I can take care of it without making a sound. But! You owe me several pizzas for going into the line of fire; I may be immortal but getting shot still hurts."

"You shall get them lady C.C. now excuse me I have to get back to my duties."

* * *

Cornelia meanwhile went over the plan that she had devised with her team. Even though she was fairly sure (not really but it was her best shot) that Jeremiah did intend to help them overthrow Lelouch you could never be too careful. while they would enter through the west entrance they would show up with a small extraction team. She then finished her plan and got her troops settled into position outside the gates.

* * *

When the time came Jeremiah Gottwald appeared before the gate and signaled that everything was ready for the coup; venturing out herself with only Guilford at her side Cornelia met Gottwald outside the gate to confirm that it wasn't a trap. The soldiers didn't even acknowledge her existence. After a quick exchange she waved her troops forwards from cover and entered the palace grounds soon they stood at their ambush point.

* * *

Lelouch was walking down the hall talking with C.C. while his small honor guard of geassed soldiers acted as protection.

"C.C. you don't seem to understand how much this interferes with my plans; Since Cornelia dropped off the map yesterday I haven't been able to find her." Lelouch exasperatedly informed his witch.

'_Lelouch you don't even have the slightest clue how much this is going to ruin your plans' _C.C. thought which brought a small smirk to her face. "Lelouch I think you are worrying too much I am sure that everything will turn out for the best."

It was at that moment that pandemonium broke loose in the cramped hallway as a pregnant Viletta Nu and Cornelia's Knight Gilbert Guilford burst through twin doors to the side guns blazing taking out several of the honor guard before they could even react, C.C. quickly grabbed Lelouch by the arm and made as if to run to get him to safety, transferring Jeremiah's plans directly to Lelouch's mind just before taking a shot to the side of her head. Moments later Lelouch was surrounded by Cornelia's troops; his last conscious thought before being knocked out was '_Dammit Orange!' _Just as the butt of a rifle cracked in the back of the skull knocking him unconscious.

* * *

"Now you will die you bastard!" Viletta exclaimed as she aimed her gun at the head of the Demon Emperor and went to pull the trigger. Seeing this Jeremiah sprung into action knocking the pregnant woman to the ground before the gun could go off, the bullet ending up in his leg instead of in Lelouch's head.

"I do not care if you are pregnant Viletta; you shall not bring him any further harm he has suffered more than you can ever begin to imagine."

Viletta screamed back "He doesn't deserve to live Jeremiah!" with that she grabbed her gun again only for her wrist to be pulverized beneath the mechanical might of Jeremiah's boot.

With Viletta writhing in pain on the ground while other members of the resistance cell stared on in shock. After a moment Cornelia began delegating tasks. "Guilford, Jeremiah and I will take Lelouch to an isolation cell for both his and our protection, the rest of you are to head to the rest of the cells and start freeing his prisoners. Collect the leaders of the Black Knights in a conference room." as an afterthought she added "And one of you take care of Viletta's wrist."

* * *

Kaname Ohgi sat in the corner of his cell looking around, he could have sworn that he had heard a firing squad suddenly the door of the cell opened up to reveal... someone who wasn't one of Lelouch's men.

"Who are you? What happened?" Ohgi asked

"I am one of Princess Cornelia's men and Emperor Lelouch has been deposed, and I am to bring you to a conference room to help determine his fate."

* * *

Similar events played out with the other Black Knight leaders however General Tohdoh waited for Kallen to be let out.

"General? What's this all about? I was told that Lelouch was defeated..."

"Indeed, were you asked to attend the meeting?"

"Meeting?..." Kallen said confused

"I'll take that as a no... The meeting to decide Lelouch's fate Kouzuki." Tohdoh responded

"What?! I need to be there! I failed him once... I can't fail him like that a third time."

"The Demon Emperor?"

"No... Lelouch; the man I love... I am not going to leave him to the mercy of his enemies again. Never again." At this Tohdoh raised his eyebrow

"Then we had better get going."

* * *

After Lelouch had been brought to the isolation cell and bound in a straightjacket Cornelia, Gilbert and Jeremiah all headed for he conference room

* * *

As Lelouch slowly woke from slumber he noted a few things...

1. He was restrained.

2. He wasn't blindfolded, but they had put one of the old Black Knight visors on him.

3. He wasn't alone.

As his sleep blind eyes adjusted to the bright light of the cell he was in he noticed five figures; the first one on the left was obviously General Tohdoh, even by a silhouette no one else could stand that stiffly; next to him was a man who could only be Jeremiah, Lelouch still didn't understand why Gottwald had betrayed him so but he intended to find out. Beside Gottwald was the worst traitor Lelouch knew Kaname Ohgi that sight immediately soured his expression. The next pair were easily deducible after all Cornelia wouldn't tolerate any other man to stand that close to her unless they were family. The final figure was the one that jarred him out of his musings '_Why did they bring Nunnally?' _as he thought though he remembered the plan that C.C. had shared with him and he quickly changed his expression.

The other occupants of the room watched as Lelouch's face shifted quickly from shock to anger.

"Get that **Impostor **out of my sight. NOW!" Lelouch spat and confusion washed over Nunnally's face before she tried to defend herself.

"But Nii-Sama..." Nunnally started

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT YOU **EXECRABLE CARICATURE!**" Lelouch roared

Cornelia rushed to the defense of her youngest living sibling "Stop Lelouch, you're hurting her!"

"Why should I care? I don't know what **damned** pit you dragged her out of or what **Quack **of a plastic surgeon you used but I know one thing. THAT THING THERE IS NOT NUNNALLY! NUNNALLY IS DEAD!" he yelled as tears began rolling down his cheeks at that statement

"Lelouch this is Nunnally! She is really alive!" Cornelia protested.

"Stop this farce NOW Cornelia; I lost Nunnally the very same day that you, Schneizel and the Black Knights forced me to cast aside the only other person who I could fight for. You killed my little sister; then your actions forced me to cast aside the last light in my life just so she could live!" At this Ohgi began to look ill. "And now you have the gall to show me this mockery of sweet Nunnally again? Have you no shame?"

At this Cornelia ordered Guilford to leave with Nunnally and keep her company while Lelouch continued his rant.

"I'll admit you and Schneizel had me fooled at first; the two of you so expertly played my heartstrings, you had me convinced that you had recovered her alive and brainwashed her; then your little puppet screwed it all up, she did one thing that Nunnally never would have done... she called me a **Demon**; when I realized that you and Schneizel created that... thing... to fool me; the little faith I still had in humanity died. If people are capable of making a mockery out of the image of the purest person to ever live, then the human race needed to be forced back onto the right track..."

After a few moments grumbling angrily to himself while everyone looked on in shock Lelouch switched topics; "Regardless, congratulations Cornelia you defeated me; do you plan on parading me through town before you execute me? Am I to die here? Or does my fate lie in torture? Though... I suppose I owe you a debt Cornelia your example finally drove home what C.C. told me so long ago..."

"What are you talking about?" Cornelia asked confused

"If you have someone you don't want to lose, you should..." Jeremiah began.

"...keep them at a distance..." Gilbert Guilford finished

"What better distance than hatred?" Lelouch said as he started chuckling in a broken way. "It's the perfect plan! Mother, Euphie, Shirley and Nunnally all died because they cared about me too much..."

"Lelouch you're insane!" Cornelia exclaimed

"Am I insane? Am I insane? Well... YES! I realized that a month ago! I revel in it! Especially if the alternative is being a blithering imbecile!" Lelouch criticized with an expression of disgust at the trio that dared to presume they were worthy of interrogating him.

Ohgi was the first to respond; "What? I won't stand for this!"

"Oh yes you will Kaname Ohgi; the man who automatically trusted Viletta Nu who is still a registered member of the damned purist faction! And let's not forget that she is the very same woman who SHOT you during the Black Rebellion; FOR A NOBLE TITLE! And You Kyoshiro Tohdoh A supposedly honorable man who chose the side of his sworn enemy over that of the commander that he had sworn to serve; and on what evidence? Evidence provided by the enemy that had every damn reason to want your commander dead! I see nothing but dishonor in your actions. you should have committed Seppuku long ago but you are too much of a _coward_. And you Cornelia do you honestly think I didn't see who your shock troops were? What the hell were you doing sending an obviously pregnant woman and a blind man in first! Are miss Nu and your Knight Guilford simply meat shields? Either you are more coldhearted than I, drowning in what others would call madness, or you are a bigger dunce than Shinichiro Tamaki!"

Lelouch was rather satisfied when he saw that he had managed to put his interrogators on bad terms with one another but fought down a smile as Cornelia looked mortified for just a split second, Ohgi glared angrily at Cornelia and Tohdoh looked suspiciously at both of them.

After letting the tension build between the three for a bit while Jeremiah looked on bemused, Lelouch sighed in a depressed manner as he turned around and lay down trying to find some comfort on the concrete he was chained to. "It probably doesn't matter, but Cornelia I do have one request."

This broke Cornelia out of her own thoughts and he turned er attention to Lelouch. "What is it Lelouch?"

"If our relationship as half-siblings still means anything... I want to be cremated... I don't know maybe you should throw me into the sun with the Damocles I'd rather not have my body be a trophy for anyone once I'm gone."

"It won't come to that Lelouch."

"Do you think I want life imprisonment Cornelia? I don't have anything left to live for... I was supposed to die... It's the only way I can keep them safe..."

* * *

A/N: Sorry about taking so long to get anything out I had my last semester to focus on, and if nyone thinks that this is poor quality I really need to get back into the wing of writing Code Geass fanfiction.

Word count: 2,838


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